儿童英语读物 The Camp-Out Mystery CHAPTER 16 The Confession
时间:2018-12-06 作者:英语课 分类:27 Gertrude Chandler Warner
Andy took a deep breath. “I didn’t mean any harm,” he said. “I just wanted to give them a taste of their own medicine.”
“Who are you talking about?” Doris snapped impatiently.
“Those awful campers,” Andy said. “The litter everywhere. They don’t care about the forest. They just come here to make noise and mess things up.”
“He stole a lantern from the Aldens,” Hildy piped up.
“But our lantern is at your cabin,” Henry said.
“Mine’s broken,” Hildy explained. “There’s no electricity in my cabin. Without a lantern it gets awfully 1 dark. Andy gave me one to use. When I saw your name on it, I began to wonder how he got it.”
“So you came over here to question him?” Doris asked.
“I did,” Hildy answered. “But when I started asking questions, Andy pushed me into the bathroom and locked the door. I knew then that he was the guilty party.”
“When did you take the lantern?” Henry asked. “It was there in the morning and, later, it was missing. But Grandfather was at the camp the whole time.”
Andy Watts 2 shrugged 3. “I just waited until he fell asleep. Then I sneaked 4 over and … took it. I figured without a lantern, you’d go home.”
“You played the loud music, too?” Violet asked.
“Yes, yes,” Andy said. “For years, I’ve had to listen to it. Loud music, loud voices—any time of the night. The forest is a quiet place. People should respect that. I just wanted to let people know how it sounded. But I never meant to cause Mr. Alden’s accident. That made me feel real bad!”
“And the lights?” Jessie asked. “Why did you do that?”
“To scare people away,” Andy explained. “That’s why I took the food. People get edgy 5 when strange things like that happen. It worked, too. Word got around. Campers have been staying away.”
“But how could you take our food when we were right there?” Jessie asked.
“You were difficult,” Andy admitted. “I dropped the honey when I heard someone rustling 6 around in the tent.”
“That was me,” Violet said. “I thought I heard something. I came out to look.”
“I just got away in time,” Andy said. “And the morning when I took the stew—”
“I saw you!” Jessie interrupted. She turned to Henry. “Remember, Henry? Watch woke me up and then I saw something moving in the mist.”
“I was sure you’d catch me that time,”Andy said.
“And the arrows? Did you do that, too?” Benny asked.
“That’s the first thing I did: turn the wooden arrow that pointed 7 to the ranger 8’s station in a different direction. A few people got so confused, they left. But most people figured it out,” Andy said.
“I mean the arrow in the maple 9 tree,” Benny persisted.
“Yes,” Andy admitted. “I did that, too. When I returned from your campsite, you children were at my cabin.”
“That was the morning we found Grandfather in the ravine,” Henry said putting the pieces together.
“I only meant to scare you … nothing more,” Andy said.
“You know, you weren’t the first to complain about strange things happening,” Hildy said to the Aldens. “I never believed it. Thought it was nonsense. Imagine my surprise when I realized the lantern was yours. And then to find out that Andy Watts of all people was causing so much trouble!”
“She wanted to tell the authorities what I’d done,” Andy said. “I couldn’t let her do that, could I? They’d put me in jail!”
“And that’s why you locked her in your bathroom,” Doris concluded.
“I would’ve let her out,” Andy said. “I decided 10 to pack up—get out of here. Go someplace where no one could find me. I would’ve let her out when I was ready to go.” He looked from one to the other. His eyes were sad. “I didn’t mean any harm,” he said. “Please, believe me.”
“Mean it or not, Andy Watts, you did cause harm,” Doris said. “You ruined people’s camping trips and the park’s reputation. Something has to be done about it.”
“Oh, I know,” Andy said. “It was foolish of me to think of running away. I knew that even while I was packing to go. This is my home. I’d never be happy anywhere else— especially after what I’ve done.” He sighed deeply. “I’ll go turn myself in to the ranger.”
- Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
- I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。
- My lamp uses 60 watts; my toaster uses 600 watts. 我的灯用60瓦,我的烤面包器用600瓦。
- My lamp uses 40 watts. 我的灯40瓦。
- Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
- She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- I sneaked up the stairs. 我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
- She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch. 她偷偷看了一眼手表。
- She's been a bit edgy lately,waiting for the exam results.她正在等待考试结果,所以最近有些焦躁不安。
- He was nervous and edgy, still chain-smoking.他紧张不安,还在一根接一根地抽着烟。
- He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
- She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
- He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
- He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。